Original Thin: The Paleo Diet in the Bible and Ancient Literature

by Keith Massey

The Paleo Diet has helped thousands lose weight and keep it off. It's the way our earliest ancestors ate, and so it's the best way to stay lean and strong. But now, Dr. Keith Massey has uncovered evidence that the Bible and other Ancient Literature preserved a distant memory of this diet. From the Garden of Eden all the way to the Greek Olympics and beyond, ancient people knew that Man should not live on Bread alone. Excerpts from Original the Paleo Diet in the Bible and Ancient The Agricultural Revolution and the Fall of Man And this brings us back to the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In this story, humans rebel against God by eating the one thing they were told not to. The story of the Garden of Eden is telling us that humans departed from some idyllic past when they centered their lives around what tastes good. And our bodies were already geared to experience deep pleasure in foods laden with carbohydrates. The Agricultural Revolution didn't happen overnight. But it happened fast enough that people at the time were aware that their ancestors hadn't taken part in extensive farming under the orders of growing city states. And they were also aware that nomads in the area were still living a more pristine lifestyle. And so, a story in which eating effects a fall from a state of grace resonates with that experience. At some point in the Neolithic period, people were seduced by the taste of grain products and began to order their lives around them. They began planting grains and harvesting them later. They began storing the grains and thus ate even more of them. And these societies organized themselves around planting and storing even more grain until finally they no longer hunted and ate meat as they used to. And once they headed down this path, it was impossible to turn back. Soon organized city states pressed the growing populations into servitude in support of the vicious cycle of growing and storing the agricultural harvest. And the Story of the Garden of Eden preserves cultural memories of that time. *** The Paleo Olympians The eating habits of ancient Olympians have been described to us in interesting detail. A famous athlete, Milo of Croton, reportedly consumed in one sitting an unbelievable twenty pounds of meat, just as much bread, and nine quarts of wine. Now, this is certainly not a Paleo Diet. While he's eating a lot of meat, he's eating way too much bread. But Milo is also described as eating an entire bull in one sitting, which implies that he had a reputation for heavy intake of meat protein, more so than the typical diet of the time. Milo once challenged a cowherd named Titormus to a test of strength. Titormus lifted a massive rock, carried it eight paces, and then threw it down. Milo couldn't even move it, at which the great athlete proclaimed Titormus to be another Hercules. This same Titormus is reported to have challenged Milo to an eating contest to see who could eat an entire ox the quickest. Again, while these stories are unbelievable, they are hinting at a memory that these super athletes ate diets based on meat.

126 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

I'm a musician, author, and public high school Latin teacher.

I'm the author of Intermediate Arabic for Dummies. On my website, www.keithmassey.com, I provide free resources for anyone who would like to learn Arabic, Latin, Spanish, or Romanian.

I'm originally from Madison, Wisconsin, where I got my PhD in Biblical Hebrew and Arabic, with my undergrad in Latin and Greek.

My action adventure novels follow the life of Andrew Valquist, soldier, scholar, and spy.

I myself served for four years as an Arabic linguist at the Top Secret National Security Agency (NSA) after 9/11. I was awarded the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal for service performed in Iraq in 2004.

As a result of my unique background, I am able to tell action adventure stories with authentic details of espionage trade craft.

Start with A Place of Brightness for the story of how Andrew and his twin were trained in their youth for battle, only to find they would need their skills when least expected.

Continue with Amor Vincit Omnia to follow Andrew as he begins work at the Top Secret National Security Agency himself.

Next in the series is the novel Next Stop: Spanish, in which Andrew Valquist and his nephew are pulled into international intrigue while on a vacation in Spain. In the course of the story, the reader incrementally learns enough Spanish to perform a basic conversation, while simultaneously experiencing an espionage adventure.

The latest novel in the series, In Saecula Saeculorum, features four students of Andrew Valquist who are unwittingly trained for a mission set in ancient Rome, to which these four young people must travel to retrieve crucial information to save the world from an imminent catastrophe.